‘Human capital’ report says Dutch labour force among best in the world

Countries have been ranked according to the amount they invest in their labour force for the first time in a recent Human Capital Report from the World Economic Forum (WEF), which found that Switzerland, Finland and Singapore have the world’s smartest workforces. But the Dutch labour force is also among the best.

The main finding in The Human Capital Report is that Switzerland, Finland and Singapore have the world’s smartest workforce. These three countries have outstanding performance in relation to all aspects of human capital; health and wellbeing, education, labour force and work, as well as a stimulating the work environment to get the most out of human capital.

But a closer look at the report reveals that the Netherlands is not far behind.

Dutch labour force is world-class

The Netherlands ranks fourth overall in The Human Capital Report, and scores particularly well on health and wellbeing, and providing a stimulating work environment to get the most out of human capital. This is because of its ‘attractive knowledge clusters, good labour conditions and a supporting infrastructure’. It scores fourth place for both of these attributes.

Room for improvement

The Dutch came seventh in the education, but participation in higher education and its effectiveness warrant further improvement, says the report. There’s also room for improvement in economic participation, particularly for women in the labour force where the Netherlands comes eighth. This ranking also applies to the productivity of Dutch workers in relation to their salaries.

The Netherlands also has some catching-up to do when it comes to the work-life balance for women in comparison to men, as well as in adult obesity and in work-related stress. It should be a priority to have a healthy and well-rested workforce in order to achieve improvements in productivity.

Top institute INSCOPE: Research for Innovation, under the direction of Henk Volberda, Professor of Strategic Management & Business Policy at Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM) is partner institute to the WEF and has collected the data for the Netherlands. The full report (in Dutch) is available here.